


Taken

by wheremylizardsat



Series: The fantasy AU [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (only referenced) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everything Hurts, F/F, Gen, Happy Ending, I Don't Even Know, I promise, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Magic-Users, Major Character Injury, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spells & Enchantments, Suicide Attempt, The Author Regrets Everything, Violence, my beta readers gave up on me, there's some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22823674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheremylizardsat/pseuds/wheremylizardsat
Summary: Hinata has been kidnapped and Kageyama sets off to save him.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: The fantasy AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624801
Comments: 20
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with part 2! This part is gonna be kind of a lot darker, and I'm still figuring everything out, so bear with me here.
> 
> Enjoy the first chapter!

“Your Majesty, please don’t go. At least not alone.” Suga trailed after him as Kageyama went to grab his things. He wasn’t going to hesitate for a second in going after Hinata. 

“I’m going, and there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me.” They were back in the library so Kageyama could pick up the map the kidnapper had left behind. 

Suga sighed and gently shook his head. “I’ll go with you.”

Daichi stared at him. “But Suga, wait…”

“You don’t really want the king venturing out on his own in the wilderness, do you?”

Daichi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then I’m going too,” he said firmly, sliding his hand into Suga’s, who smiled gratefully and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

Kageyama huffed, but secretly felt a little bit more comforted to know he wouldn’t be travelling alone.

Someone spoke up. “Hold on, if the captain is going then I’ll come too. You might need me for backup,” said Kuroo. He tugged Kenma to his side. “What do you say, Kenma?”

The scribe shrugged. “If it’s for Shoyo, then I’ll go.”

Yachi fidgeted nervously. "We can talk to other kingdoms for reinforcements just in case… Just in case something happens."

Kiyoko had a dark look on her face. "A war, you mean. That won't happen if they cooperate."

The rest of the people in the library, which included Bokuto, Akaashi, and the two girls, watched as they figured everything out. Kageyama insisted they leave right away, and the others scrambled to get their belongings.

Soon, the small group assembled at the front gates and after checking everyone had everything, Daichi led them forward. 

Kenma was reading the map, Kuroo looking over his shoulder. “It’s going to take us a long time to get to where they, whoever that is, are keeping him prisoner.”

Suga nodded and adjusted his bag on his back. Kageyama knew it must be heavy, with all the medical supplies he was carrying. He just hoped they wouldn’t need to be put to use. 

The group trudged through the forest behind the castle, full of energy and determination. Kageyama’s heart was beating fast as he imagined what could be happening to Hinata. He wondered if the kidnapper had hurt him, or worse. 

He shook his head, dismissing the morbid thoughts. He had to hold on to the hope that Hinata was still out there, waiting for him. 

They had been walking for a couple of hours before they took a break to eat lunch. Kuroo found some old tree trunks for them to sit on, and they ate quietly.

Kenma moved over to where Kageyama was sitting to show him the map. Neither of them said anything, but Kageyama knew that the scribe cared about Hinata too, and was just as determined to find him.

He wondered if there was anything between them, but that thought was quickly dismissed when he saw Kuroo watching Kenma with an affectionate smile and remembered how Kenma had fallen asleep on Kuroo during the first wagon ride. 

Kageyama jumped when Daichi clapped his hands. "Okay everyone, we have to keep moving." 

Kenma stood up and yawned. He held the map out in front of him and pointed them in the right direction.

They set off again, Kageyama trailing in the back. After a little while, Suga broke off from the front and came to walk beside him.

Kageyama avoided eye contact and kept walking until Suga spoke up.

"Are you and Hinata…?" He raised his eyebrows at the king.

Kageyama choked. "What? No, no… I…" he spluttered. "No, it's not like that!" 

Suga laughed. "Okay, okay. I just thought maybe something happened when you went out, you know?" 

Kageyama sighed. "No. We're just friends, I think." 

Suga adjusted his bag on his shoulder and smirked. "Why do you sound so disappointed?" 

Kageyama blushed and looked at his feet. "Whatever. What's going on with you and Daichi?"

Suga smiled sheepishly. He looked forward to where Daichi was walking and sighed happily. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say anything yet, but yes, we're together. We were planning on announcing it after we finished unfreezing everyone, but…"

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Yeah." 

They kept walking until Kuroo said, "It's getting dark, we should set up camp."

Everyone agreed. They had taken the tent with the spell on it, so there was enough room for all five of them to sleep comfortably. 

Suga put out the lamps. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” echoed everyone else. 

Kageyama couldn’t fall asleep. There were too many thoughts running through his head and he couldn’t make it stop. 

Eventually, he got up from his sleeping bag. He couldn’t bear to lie here and wait for day to go find Hinata. 

He tiptoed to where Kenma was sleeping and bent to pick up the map. If he could find and bring back Hinata before sunrise, everyone would be happy.

Before he could pick up the map, he felt a hand grasp his ankle and he jumped.

“What are you doing?” Kuroo whispered harshly. 

Kageyama froze. He hadn’t thought anyone would wake up, but apparently Kuroo was a light sleeper. 

“You weren’t really going to go out, were you?” 

Kuroo sat up, moving Kenma’s head off his chest and onto the pillow. “Well?”

Kageyama sighed in defeat. “I know it’s a bad idea, but I just… I want him back.” 

“We’re going to find him in the morning,” Kuroo said quietly. 

“I can’t wait that long.” Kageyama felt like a hand was tightening around his heart, slowly squeezing the life out of him. He didn’t think he could take it for much longer. 

Kuroo bit his lip. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. You’ll have to.”

Kageyama cursed, but went back to his corner of the tent. He couldn’t help it when the tears started to trickle down his cheeks. Quickly wiping them away, he curled up in his sleeping bag. He hoped Kuroo wouldn’t want to talk in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could've sworn there was a typo in this chapter. Oh well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omygoddddd I almost forgot to post I was busy watching anime
> 
> Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Unfortunately, Kuroo did approach him while Daichi and Suga were taking down the tent the next morning. 

“Your Majesty, are you okay?” His tone wasn’t harsh, but he didn’t seem that concerned either. 

Kageyama nodded firmly. “Yes. I’m sorry about last night, I was tired and wasn’t thinking straight.”

Kuroo hummed in response. “Alright.” He went to gather his bags, taking Kenma’s too, despite the scribe’s protest.

Suga finished taking down the tent and ran to join Daichi, who started walking with Kenma’s direction.

Kageyama fell in step behind everyone. He tried to block out his thoughts. He needed to focus on the task at hand: finding Hinata as soon as possible.

The sun shone through the leaves of the trees in the forest, beating down on their backs and casting dancing lights all around. Kageyama could feel the drops of sweat rolling down his forehead. 

Kenma had carefully folded and put the map in his bag and Kageyama figured that meant they were close.

His suspicions were confirmed when Suga spotted a little hut between the trees in the distance. “Look,” he whispered. 

There were six guards standing around it, keeping watch. The hut wasn’t that big, but Kageyama was sure that was where Hinata was being kept. He wondered why they had that many guards. 

Before he could even think, his feet were carrying him towards the hut. 

“Your Majesty!” He heard Suga cry out. He didn’t stop.

The guards reacted, some of them drawing their swords. They advanced upon him. 

One of them shouted, “Don’t injure the king! We need him unharmed!”

“Come back! It’s not safe!” Kageyama heard Daichi yelling at him, but he still didn’t hesitate. He knew the guards wouldn’t hurt him, so he had nothing to lose. He needed to reach Hinata. 

Two of the guards noticed Suga peeking through the trees and they started to move towards the others. 

Kuroo cursed and the little group started to run in the opposite direction, leaving Kageyama behind. 

Kageyama was almost at the entrance to the little hut when suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders from behind and he felt his arms being pinned behind his back.

“Don’t try to resist, or you’ll get hurt,” said the guard holding him. She pushed him towards the hut and Kageyama’s heart skipped a beat.

Another guard opened the door for them and Kageyama was led inside. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the familiar face standing near the staircase. 

“Well, well, well,” Suguru said, smiling. Kageyama hated that smile. 

The guard holding him spoke up. “We found him in the forest. He ran at the hut.”

Suguru tapped his chin. “Hm. Seems taking the orange-haired guard was an effective choice.”

Kageyama bit his lip so hard he drew blood. “Where is he?”

Suguru ignored him. “Take him down to the cell,” he said to the guard. He then left the hut. The other man standing in the hut followed behind, after sneaking a glance at Kageyama. 

Kageyama took a second to process what had just happened. He was filled up with disgust and hate towards Suguru. The guard prodded him in the back and forced him toward the staircase leading down into the dark.

As he walked down the stairs, he stumbled on a couple of steps. The staircase was old and rotted, and Kageyama wondered how long the hut had been standing in the forest. 

The guard pushed him down a long hallway. There was a shorter man standing guard just after the stairs ended. He looked at Kageyama with a mix of regret and scorn. The king was sure he had seen the guy before, and quickly turned his eyes to the dusty floor.

They turned a corner and Kageyama saw another familiar face. 

“Lev…” 

He heard Lev whisper, “I’m sorry,” before the guard gave him a shove towards the cell at the end of the hallway. She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the cell door. 

Kageyama looked back at Lev, who was gazing the opposite way down the hall with a wistful expression on his face. Kageyama noticed he had scars on his neck and face that looked freshly healed, framed by his silvery-white hair. 

The king was thrown into the cell and the guard locked the door behind him. She walked briskly away with the keys jangling ominously on her belt. Kageyama watched her pass Lev and turn the corner, out of sight. 

In the chaos, Kageyama had forgotten that they were keeping Hinata here. It came back to him in a rush and he looked around the dark cell, hopeful. He squinted in the darkness and wished he had a lamp or something.

“Kageyama?” said a quiet voice. 

Kageyama saw a dark shape moving cautiously towards him. _Hinata._

“I’m here,” he whispered, and Hinata crashed into his arms. Kageyama felt tears soaking his shirt, and he buried his face into Hinata’s hair. 

They were back together again. 

Hinata started to cry louder and Kageyama pulled him even closer. He didn’t even realize that he was crying too.

Kageyama pulled back slightly to look at Hinata’s face in the light coming from between the bars of the cell. “Oh god, Hinata… Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

Hinata shook his head. He reached down and took Kageyama’s hands. “You found me.”

Kageyama traced the scar on Hinata’s cheek. “Of course, dumbass. You think I could just let you get kidnapped?” He leaned forward to rest his head on Hinata’s shoulder, relieved. Hinata was safe, and that was all that mattered.

“Kageyama…” Hinata said hesitantly.

“Yeah?” Kageyama looked up at him. 

“Um, well, there are some other people in here.” Hinata bit his lip. 

Kageyama looked around, confused. He could see some dark shapes huddled in the corner of the cell, but that was all.

“Tobio.” 

Kageyama peered towards the sound of the voice. Two figures moved closer to the light and he managed to make out their faces. It was a woman and a man. 

“Mom. Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I couldn't keep my boys apart for long.
> 
> See you next week


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Hinata's perspective about what happened when he got kidnapped, so these events are before chapter 2.

Hinata couldn't see. He could only feel the steady bumping of the cart he was in along the road.

When he woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare, he had decided to take a walk. He hadn't expected there to be strangers in the castle. And he hadn't expected them to be there for him. 

Hinata tried to take the blindfold off, but a pair of hands swatted his away from his face. 

He sighed and settled in for the ride. After a little while, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him out of the cart. 

He was led blindly and a couple of moments later, heard the creaking of a door. 

"Stairs," said the guard leading him. Hinata was roughly shoved downwards and stumbled through a long hallway. While they were walking, the guard pulled his blindfold off and Hinata looked around in the dark tunnel.

He saw Lev when they turned a corner, but stopped himself from calling to him. They made eye contact and Lev mouthed something Hinata didn't catch.

The guard unlocked the door to a cell at the end of the hall and pushed him in. 

Hinata landed on his tailbone with a sharp cry as the guard locked the door with a scoff and walked away. 

“Hello?” a voice called out. “Is someone here?”

Hinata lifted his head to look into the cell. Three other people were sitting there. 

“Um, hi.” He shuffled closer to look at them and the woman gasped softly.

She nudged the man beside her. “Taiyo, look. Isn’t that the uniform?”

The man squinted at Hinata and hummed. “Young man, are you a member of the royal guard?”

Hinata nodded and adjusted his shirt. He looked closer at their faces to see if he could identify them and was surprised to see the woman looked almost exactly like Kageyama, but female. 

He furrowed his brow. _Was it them?_

“Excuse me, but do you know Kageyama Tobio?” Hinata asked, holding his breath.

The two of them grabbed onto each other with excited glances, at a loss for words. The woman leaned towards Hinata and whispered, “That’s our son.” 

“Do you know him?” asked the man. 

Hinata shifted into a cross legged position and nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! He’s my…” 

What were they? Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. He thought of Kageyama as his friend, but he wasn’t sure if the king saw him as that. Maybe he was just a guard. 

Kageyama’s parents looked at him curiously and he saw Kageyama’s mother make eye contact with the other young man sitting in the corner. 

“Well, young man...”

“Hinata.”

Kageyama’s father cleared his throat. “Hinata, do you know where our son is?” 

Hinata nodded again. “Yeah, Kageyama’s back at the castle. We finished unfreezing everyone yesterday before I got kidnapped.”

Kageyama’s mother tilted her head. “Unfreezing… everyone?” 

Hinata let out a little breath before launching into a detailed explanation of the past several days. The other man also moved closer to them to listen. 

By the time Hinata was finished, Kageyama’s father had tears in his eyes and his mother was digging her nails into her palms.

“I can’t believe they imprisoned you,” she spat. 

Everyone was quiet until Kageyama’s father made the unfortunate decision to ask Hinata a question.

“Where are your parents?” 

Hinata had almost forgotten for a second. He remembered how the royals had done nothing during the drought and looked away from the couple in front of him, feeling a sudden hostility towards them. 

“They died during the drought. Our neighbours killed them to get a loaf of bread,” he said rigidly. 

Kageyama’s father’s eyes widened in horror and he sputtered incoherently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t–”

Kageyama’s mother put a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “The drought was a terrible time for our kingdom. We’re terribly sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Hinata managed to say. The tension in the cell was so tangible you could cut it with a knife. 

The other man in the cell moved towards Hinata and extended a hand. “My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi. Nice to meet you.”

Hinata shook his hand, glad to see someone who seemed closer to his age, but he was also a little confused. 

“How long have you been here? It can’t have been long,” he asked curiously. 

Ushijima gave him an unreadable look. Hinata shivered.

“Ah, sorry if that question is a bit intrusive–”

“Longer than them.” He gestured towards the couple leaning against each other on the other side of the cell. 

Hinata scratched his head and tried to remember when Kageyama had said his parents went missing. It was a little bit over a year ago. 

That meant that Ushijima had been imprisoned for more than a year. Hinata shuddered at the thought. 

He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. It was still the middle of the night and he was tired. 

***

When Hinata woke up, he came to a full realization about what had happened and flew into a panic. 

The day before, he had been too much in shock to even realize what this meant. He had been kidnapped and was locked in a cell.

 _This is just like the time with the olive branch,_ he thought. _Except this time I don’t have Kageyama here with me._

He had to break everyone out. That was his job as a member of the royal guard, to protect everyone from danger. 

Hinata heard footsteps coming down the hallway and saw Suguru’s face peer in between the bars of the cell. 

“Hungry, maggots?” He slid a plate of stale, mouldy bread towards the four prisoners. 

Ushijima hung back and let the rest of them take food first. 

Hinata sat in silence nibbling the disgusting bread, wondering how he could manage to get them out of this place. 

He hoped that he wouldn’t have to stay here too long and he would be able to see everyone at the castle again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if there is anything I need to fix!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost couldn't post this but then I got wifi so yay! 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter

His parents hugged him, tears staining their cheeks. 

Kageyama felt numb. 

He hadn’t seen his parents for over a year, but he had given up on them only a couple of weeks after they went missing. He hadn’t even thought of the possibility that they could still be alive. Kageyama had accepted his parents’ death and lived with it. 

But now he was seeing them again, and they were alive, here in front of him. He should have been happy, so why did he feel nothing? It was as if he was in the arms of two strangers instead of his parents.

His mother buried her face in his shoulder and wept, and his father stroked his hair, whispering incoherently. 

Kageyama let a few tears fall from his eyes, and that was when he realized it. All those times he had cried after his parents were gone, all the times he had broken down in the comfort of his own room, he hadn’t been crying for his parents.

He was crying for himself. 

_Why?_

His thoughts were interrupted when his mother spoke to him. “Tobio… You’re still alive.” 

“Yeah. The healers managed to cure me. But that was over a year ago.”

His mother’s mouth opened slightly. “Did you hear that, Taiyo? It’s been more than a year…” 

“It always felt that long, but I never thought…” His father gently raised a hand to his mouth. His eyes were shining with tears as he looked up at Kageyama. 

Both his parents moved away from him to sit back in the corner. “I’m glad you found us, son,” Kageyama heard his father whisper.

Kageyama lifted his hand up to touch the crown sitting lopsidedly on his head. He took it off and held it out to his parents. 

“What…”

“I don’t need to be the ruler anymore, since you guys are still alive.”

“Tobio…” his mother whispered. 

Kageyama didn’t respond. Hinata shuffled towards him. “Are…?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Okay.” Hinata leaned into him and they settled back against the wall of the cell. Kageyama’s parents observed them for a second before settling back in themselves. 

Hinata spoke again. “Oh, and I also forgot to mention that there’s someone else in here too.” 

Kageyama turned to see a young man sitting cross legged on the ground near them. 

“His name is Ushijima. Apparently he’s been imprisoned even longer than your parents,” whispered Hinata. 

“Almost four years,” said Ushijima. 

Kageyama drew in a startled breath. Four years was a long time to be trapped in this dark, cold dungeon. He felt sorry for Ushijima and didn't know what to say.  
"I… I'm sorry." he mumbled, acknowledging the final prisoner.

“It’s alright. It hasn’t felt that long.” Ushijima gave a small wistful smile and leaned his head back against the wall. 

Kageyama shrugged and let his eyes drift closed. He hadn’t really thought about what would happen after he found Hinata, and he certainly hadn’t expected that he would be captured too.   
_I'm sorry for running off… But I had to._ Hopefully the others were doing alright.

***

Kuroo sank down onto the ground, breathing heavily. They had managed to outrun the two guards chasing him and were now in the middle of the forest, surrounded by expanses of leafy green.

Kenma took out the map again and tried to figure out where they were. Kuroo noticed he stuck out his tongue a little, like he always did when he was concentrating, and smiled to himself.

Suga was doting over Daichi a little bit further away. 

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” 

Daichi laughed softly. “I told you Suga, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” He slid an arm around Suga’s waist and kissed him on the cheek.

Kuroo had suspected for a while that the two of them were together, and Daichi had even formally told him they were going to announce it to the rest of the royal guard after everything had calmed down. 

Too bad things had only gotten worse. 

Kenma sat down beside Kuroo on the ground. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“You can’t figure it out?” 

Kenma sighed and shook his head. He rolled up the map and put it back in his bag. He then took another scroll from his bag and began to write something down.

Kuroo peeked over his shoulder and watched Kenma write. He remembered when he was learning to read, when he had just started working at the castle, and how Kenma had helped him.

They had grown up together in the village, and since Kenma’s parents had retired from being scribes at the castle, they were raising him to become one once he was old enough. Kenma had learned to read at a young age, unlike Kuroo. 

Kuroo remembered how Kenma had used to read to him on sunny afternoons. 

_”And with a final thrust, the thief snuffed out the emperor’s life, therefore earning the right to the throne. The people of the kingdom had no choice but to let him rule, and the kingdom was plagued with war and misfortune for many years. The end.”_

_“Whoa.” Kuroo leaned back on his hands. “Kinda dark, huh?”_

_Kenma just nodded. They sat together, not saying anything, until Kuroo bumped Kenma’s knee with his own._

_“Hey, you’re leaving in a few years to go to the castle, right?”_

_“Mhm.” Kenma shifted to face his friend. “Why?”_

_Kuroo shrugged. “I was just asking.”_

_A pause._

_Kenma spoke so quietly Kuroo barely heard him. His hair was draped in front of his eyes as he leaned forward and said, “I’ll miss you.”_

Three years later, when the people from the castle came to recruit new guards, Kuroo was one of the first to volunteer. Kenma was going to be leaving soon anyway and he didn’t want to be left alone in the village. 

So they had left together, Kenma to be a scribe and Kuroo to be a member of the royal guard. 

Kuroo sighed and felt Kenma lean into him. His best friend turned to look up at him. 

“What?” he asked.

Kuroo smiled. “Nothing, I’m just thinking.” 

They were interrupted when Daichi spoke up. “Alright everyone, we need a plan. They kidnapped the king. What are we going to do?”

“Well, we can’t just go charging in there. We’re outnumbered, and they might even have more people in the hut. I think we should wait a little while and see what happens, especially since we don’t know where we are,” suggested Kuroo. Kenma cringed at the last bit.

Daichi scratched his head. “Sounds good. I guess we should set up camp here, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I making unnecessary backstories for characters I shouldn't be making them for? Yes. Do I care? No.
> 
> See you next week!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in quarantine y'all so I'll probably be writing more
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Kageyama didn’t even realize how hungry he was until a guard arrived at their cell with a plate of what looked vaguely like oatmeal. 

The guard pushed the plate underneath the cell door and everyone moved forward in an orderly fashion. Only Ushijima completely ignored the food and moved forward to reach through the bars. He touched the guard’s hand, who smiled at him and laced their fingers together. 

Ushijima smiled sadly and leaned his head against the bars. The guard touched his shoulder with his other hand. 

Hinata turned to look at them curiously and the guard cocked his head, grinning. 

Ushijima turned to the other prisoners to explain. “I grew up with Tendou. We lived in the same village.”

“Wait, but… isn’t he bad?” asked Hinata.

“Well, the truth is, he’s been trying to help me escape for the last four years.” 

Tendou nodded along, still holding Ushijima’s hand. “That’s right. Shortly after I became a guard he was imprisoned. I’m still surprised about what he did.”

Kageyama turned to Ushijima. “What happened?” 

“When they came to collect taxes, my family didn’t have the money. The guards were hurting them, so I retaliated and got put in jail for attacking members of the royal guard.” Ushijima stared at the wall. 

Hinata gasped in wonder. “Whoa. That is so badass! You're amazing, Ushijima!!”

Tendou smiled at him. 

Kageyama’s parents had been silent this whole time. They were looking at each other and Kageyama heard the end of his father’s sentence. 

“...they’re barely even adults, the poor things.” 

Kageyama sighed. His father was right. He couldn’t imagine witnessing his friend being in prison for four years, betraying the kingdom he was working for to try and help him get out. 

“Even though there are more of you here now, I’ll still manage to get you all out,” said Tendou determinedly, running his hand through his spiky red hair. He took the plate back from Kageyama’s mother and looked at Ushijima one last time before leaving. 

“I’ll be back in the morning,” he called down the tunnel.

Ushijima sighed quietly and moved back to his corner to go to sleep. 

Hinata watched Tendou leave. “He seems cool.”

Kageyama nodded noncommittally and curled up against the wall. His parents also lay down on the concrete ground beside each other to go to bed. 

Hinata stared into the hallway for a couple more moments before moving to lie down beside Kageyama. 

It was silent for a while until Kageyama heard snoring coming from his parents’ corner. _So even after all this time, Mom still snores_ , he thought.

“Hey, Kageyama?” he heard Hinata whisper in his ear. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think Tendou will really manage to get us all out?” 

Kageyama rolled over to face Hinata. The light from the torches in the tunnels shone dimly in his eyes and he could just make out Hinata’s features.

“I think it’s possible. I mean, we managed to break out of the dungeon that other time.”

Hinata frowned. “Yeah, but this time we have more people.”

“Hinata, don’t worry about it. If we can brave being in here for a little longer, I’m sure Tendou will get us out.” Kageyama reached out to tuck a lock of Hinata’s hair behind his ear. 

Hinata hummed in agreement and closed his eyes. “G’night Kageyama.”

“Night.”

***

Hinata shook him awake. “Kageyama! Tendou and Lev are here!”

Kageyama groaned and turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling. His parents were already eating the food the guards had brought and Ushijima and Tendou were talking quietly.

Hinata ran over to talk to Lev. 

Kageyama yawned and went to grab a portion of food from the plate, hearing Tendou clear his throat. 

Everyone turned to listen to him.

“Well, Wakatoshi and I were talking, and we think it’s about time we tried to break out again.”

Kageyama looked quickly at Lev, who didn’t seem shocked by this statement. He figured Tendou must have already told him. That would mean he was going to help them too.

“We’ll break out during the night. Since Lev and I are the ones guarding the tunnel, we’ll be able to get through,” Tendou continued.

Lev looked uncomfortable and was chewing his bottom lip. “Um… what about Yaku?”

Tendou made a face. “We might have to knock him out or something, along with some of the other guards if they get in our way. But we’ll try to leave as little traces as possible.”

Hinata raised his hand, bouncing on his toes. “When are we going to break out?”

Tendou looked at Ushijima, who shrugged. “Most likely in the next few days. If we wait any longer…” 

Kageyama noticed that Ushijima, Tendou, Lev, and his parents all grimaced at that last statement.

Hinata furrowed his brow and reached up to touch his cheek. 

“Tendou!” 

Tendou turned around and swore. “I’ve got to go, boss is calling.” He ran down the tunnel, leaving them alone with Lev.

Lev looked uncomfortably at all of them, scratching his neck. "Uh, well, I guess when Tendou comes to see you guys again we can make official plans. I'd better be going too," he said, before taking the plate with him down the hall. 

Hinata started fidgeting not long after he left. "What do you do in here? Prison is so boring." He stretched out lazily on the floor. 

"You're right, there's not much to do, but you get used to it after a while," said Ushijima. "Gives you time to ponder over your own thoughts." He closed his eyes and sighed. 

Kageyama bit his lip. He didn't want to be left in silence with his own mind, afraid of what would appear. 

Hinata scrunched up his nose, which Kageyama had to admit was a little bit endearing. "Thinking is boring. I wish we had a deck of cards." 

"Well, hopefully Tendou will be back soon so we can figure out how to get out of here," murmured Kageyama, leaning into Hinata's side.

"Yeah, hopefully."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andddd I just realized this is moving as slow as the last part. More interesting stuff is gonna happen in the next chapters I promise


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. So sorry for the late update, I'm having a lot of trouble writing at this time.   
> I'm really sorry if updates are delayed, I'm trying my hardest. I hope you guys understand. 
> 
> This chapter is super short and I'm going to crawl into a hole and die now bye

Kageyama rubbed his eyes. He had dozed off on Hinata's shoulder and the short guard was resting one of his hands in Kageyama's hair.

Kageyama blushed and stood up, stretching his legs. Ushijima and his mother were sitting in the corner of the cell, talking quietly to each other, and his father was sleeping across from them.

He heard a distressed noise from Hinata, who was still sitting on the floor. Hinata gestured to the cell door.

Kageyama turned and saw Suguru, Lev, and Tendou standing in front of the door. 

"You're leaving this filthy cell. Hurry up," snapped Suguru. The prisoners sprang quickly to their feet, and Kageyama noticed that Ushijima and his parents looked equally as fearful of Suguru as Hinata and him. 

They were each blindfolded and pushed in a straight line down a seemingly endless tunnel.

Kageyama wondered where they were heading. Maybe they were going to be executed and put out of this misery.

After a long time walking, he heard the sound of a door creaking open and was pushed to the ground. 

He managed to yank his blindfold off in time to see Suguru close the door on them. They were in a different cell, and this time he was with only Hinata and Ushijima. 

“Where are Kageyama’s parents?” Hinata asked. 

Suguru scoffed. “They’re in the next cell over.” He then turned and walked up the stairs out of the dungeon. 

Kageyama squinted and realized the stairs looked familiar. He turned to Hinata. 

“Does this place look familiar to you?” 

Hinata looked around and Kageyama saw the realization dawn on his face. “We’re in the same palace as before.”

Ushijima looked at the two of them curiously. “Have you been in this cell before?”

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, we got caught trying to steal an olive branch and were thrown in jail. That’s why Suguru kind of has a grudge against us.” 

Tendou came close to the bars, laughing. “Stealing an olive branch? Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

"We broke out, though." Kageyama crossed his legs and leaned back against the wall.

"Wait, so there's hope for us!" Tendou exclaimed. 

Ushijima shook his head, looking at Kageyama and Hinata.

Hinata was touching the scar on his cheek and Kageyama was staring at the ground.

"There's more people this time, I don't know if it's possible," said Hinata hesitantly. 

Tendou sighed. "Alright. If you say so. But I'm still going to get you guys out, preferably sooner rather than later." He reached through the bars to touch Ushijima’s hand before moving to take his post in front of the stairwell.

Lev stood opposite him, hand clenched behind his back. 

Kageyama sighed and rested his head in his hands. He had a feeling they were going to be there for a while. 

Hinata was pacing around the cell and twisting the hem of his tattered shirt. Kageyama noticed that he looked horrible. Hinata had bags under his eyes and was muttering incoherently to himself. 

“Hinata.” 

Hinata spun around to look at Kageyama. “Yeah?”

Kageyama tried his best to smile reassuringly. “It’s gonna be okay. You don’t have to worry.” 

Hinata stared at him for a second, then burst out laughing. 

Kageyama blinked, affronted. “What?” 

“Nothing, nothing,” said Hinata, sinking down to sit beside Kageyama. He moved his hand to lightly touch Kageyama’s. 

“Thank you,” Hinata whispered, and Kageyama felt his heart flutter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have chapter 7 up on Sunday but after that it might be a little while, since I haven't written chapter 8 yet and am pretty blocked.
> 
> Thanks for reading and stay safe everyone!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm back with another chapter! 
> 
> This is from Oikawa's POV, just so we can see what's going on in the castle.
> 
> Enjoy!

Oikawa lay on his bed, turning his bow over in his hands. He was horribly bored, waiting for Iwaizumi’s shift to end. There was nothing to do in the castle besides keep watch, and Oikawa’s shift wasn’t until later in the night. 

Oikawa sighed and decided to go down to the library to see if there was anyone else he could bother hang out with.

He got a weird feeling walking through the large doors, like someone, or something, was watching him. A wave of uneasiness washed over him and he grabbed a chair to steady himself. 

Looking down at his stomach, he figured he was feeling sick due to the wound from several days ago, which hadn't fully healed yet. He wondered if he should go see Yachi to see if something was wrong, but decided against it. 

The library was empty; not even the scribes were there. Even so, Oikawa decided to stay and find a book to read. It had been a while since he had sat down and really read a book, fully absorbing each page of knowledge. He missed it.

Oikawa settled down in an armchair and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting the open book on them. 

He felt a pair of soft lips on the top of his head. He looked up, smiling.

"Iwa-chan." He closed his book and turned around, pulling Iwaizumi into a kiss. "I missed you." 

The other man came around and squeezed himself into the chair beside Oikawa. "What are you reading?" 

Oikawa shrugged. "Some fantasy story about a dragon and a princess. Pretty unoriginal if you ask me, but I wanted to read something again. It's been too long." 

Iwaizumi brushed a thumb over his cheek and smiled at him. "That's good. I'm happy." 

Oikawa returned the smile and nuzzled his face into the crook of Iwaizumi’s neck. "Do you think Tobio-chan will succeed?" 

"In getting Hinata back? I don't doubt him. He's very capable as long as he doesn't let his emotions get the best of him." 

Oikawa nodded in agreement. "I wonder if he knows…" 

"Knows what?"

A loud bang echoed through the library as the doors were slammed open. Two strangers pushed all the castle staff into the room. 

Iwaizumi jumped out of the chair. "What's going on?" 

Bokuto ran over to them, pulling Akaashi by the hand. "Just comply. They're mages, and very dangerous." 

Oikawa looked around and saw the rest of the royal guard, the messengers, the healers, and all of the servants gathered in front of the door as a man with spiked up hair blocked the door up.

The other man ran to block up the other exit, then came back to talk to them. 

"Listen up. Nobody is coming in or going out."

Yamaguchi gasped. "So you're trapping us here?" 

The man nodded. "Kindaichi, I'm pretty sure it's blocked enough." He looked at the other man, who was piling chairs in front of the door.

He blushed and moved away from the door. "Sorry."

Oikawa cursed under his breath. He had no clue what was going on, but he knew it wasn't good. 

"You'll all stay here until we let you leave. Don't try anything. I'm not scared to kill." 

"What about food?" Oikawa saw Yachi peer out from behind Kiyoko, face full of terror. 

"You won't starve, Kunimi's not heartless," said the man called Kindaichi. "Get comfortable, you'll be here for a while."

Oikawa sighed and sat down on the ground, the rest of the royal guard coming to join him and Iwaizumi.

"What are we going to do?" asked Tanaka. 

"We can't do much without any weapons," muttered Tsukishima. He was clearly frustrated and Yamaguchi gently put a hand on his arm.

"We can't let them know Kiyoko is a mage too," Oikawa whispered. 

Noya gasped. "We have a secret weapon!" He bounced up and down excitedly.

Everyone collectively shushed him. 

"We'll have to wait a little while for them to let down their guard, but I think it's a good plan," Iwaizumi said. 

They all nodded and drifted slightly apart to settle in for the night. 

Oikawa moved to lean against one of the bookshelves and Iwaizumi followed. Oikawa rested his head on his shoulder and let his eyes drift closed. 

"Hey Iwa-chan…" 

"Yeah?" Iwaizumi slid an arm around Oikawa’s waist, pulling him closer for warmth. Oikawa shivered against him.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" 

Iwaizumi sighed and shrugged. "I couldn't know. We'll just have to pull through, like we always do." 

He pressed a kiss to Oikawa’s temple and brushed a lock of hair out of his face. "Get some rest. I know your wound has been hurting you."

"How…?" 

"I know you, Oikawa. I can tell." 

Oikawa hid his smile and buried his face into Iwaizumi’s shoulder. "What about you? Aren't you going to go to sleep?"

"I've never been a good sleeper, you know that. It won't be much better in these conditions." Iwaizumi leaned his head back against the bookshelf. Oikawa noticed the pained expression on his face. 

He had never slept well, not even when they were kids. Oikawa remembered waking up in the night sometimes and finding Iwaizumi in the living room of their old house, staring out the window blankly. Some nights he was crying, curled up on the couch. 

"Fine. You're gonna be tired in the morning though." 

"I'm always tired." 

Oikawa opened his eyes to look up at Iwaizumi, concerned. "Iwa-chan…" 

“That was a joke.” He was lying.

Iwaizumi ran his fingers through Oikawa’s hair. "Hey, don't worry about me. You're the one who's hurt." 

"It's almost fully healed," grumbled Oikawa. Iwaizumi looked at him, unconvinced. 

"Almost." 

"Whatever, I'm not a baby, Iwa-chan. I'm going to sleep." He closed his eyes, curling up into Iwaizumi’s side.

The torches in the library got put out, probably by that man, Kunimi, and Oikawa drifted off to sleep, feeling Iwaizumi’s hands gliding through his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anything I should change feel free to tell me
> 
> See you next week!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quarantine really said fuck my posting schedule
> 
> I'm only gonna be posting chapters on Sundays now because I'm starting online school :<
> 
> sorry this chapter is so short I'll have a longer one up next week hopefully

Kuroo looked up from where he was sharpening his sword when Daichi cleared his throat. 

“Guys. I think it’s about time we went after His Majesty.”

Suga, who was sitting cross legged on the ground and sorting his medical equipment, nodded. “That’s probably a good idea, but we have to be careful.”

Kuroo stood up and ran a hand through his dark, spiky hair. “I’m fine with that too. We better get going.” He pulled open the tent flap to retrieve Kenma.

Kenma was curled up in the corner, sleeping peacefully. His hands were clenched into loose fists, like a baby. Kuroo knelt down next to him and lightly shook his shoulder.

“Kenma, we’re going to rescue the king. It’s time to wake up.” Kenma stirred and rolled over, hair falling in front of his face.

“Kenma.” Kuroo gently brushed the hair out of his friend’s face and shook him again. “Get up.”

Kenma groaned. “I’m awake, I’m awake. You’re so annoying.” 

Kuroo grinned and waited while Kenma packed up his things. They left the tent and Suga and Daichi took it down. 

“Alright everyone, let’s head out,” said Daichi. They headed back through the forest in the direction they had come in.

Kenma pulled out the map and tried again to figure out where they were. After about ten minutes of walking, the little group found themselves on the outskirts of the clearing where the hut stood. 

“We have to be smart about this, we can’t just rush in. That’s how His Majesty got caught,” whispered Daichi.

Kenma furrowed his brow. “That’s strange. They don’t have any guards posted outside. I wonder why that is.”

Kuroo stood up and put a hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’ll go in first and take out any guards inside. I’ll whistle to signal you guys to follow.”

“Wait, Kuroo,” Kenma protested. 

“It’ll be fine,” Kuroo said. He walked carefully towards the front door of the hut and put his hand on the knob. Taking a deep breath and drawing his sword, he turned it and opened the door.

Kuroo was surprised to find that there were no guards on the inside, either. He whistled and waited until Daichi, Suga, and Kenma came into the hut. 

Suga closed the door behind them and looked around the hut. “Huh. That is weird.”

Daichi moved towards the staircase at the back of the hut and everyone followed him down the creaky staircase.

They arrived in the dark tunnel and slowly walked down it. Daichi walked into the wall a couple of times. 

“Man, I wish we had a light or something,” he groaned, rubbing his head. 

Kenma whispered a couple of words under his breath and his palm started to glow. Kuroo gasped in amazement. 

“Wow… that’s amazing,” muttered Suga. Kenma blushed and stepped in front to lead the others down the tunnel.

They turned the corner and kept walking until Kenma saw the cell. It was empty. He turned around.

“There’s no one here.” 

Kuroo furrowed his brow. “What? Where are they?”

“I don’t know. The cell’s empty,” said Kenma. He turned back around. “At least we don’t have to fight anyone.”

Daichi sighed. “I wonder what happened. I hope they’re okay.” 

Kenma led them back out of the tunnel and they stood silently in the hut. 

Kuroo cleared his throat. “Maybe we should go back to the castle. It’s no use staying out here if we don’t know where they are. We should regroup with the others and figure everything out.”

Suga nodded. “That’s a good idea.” 

They went back out into the forest and joined hands. Kenma performed the flying spell and they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pffft everything is still boring whoops
> 
> see you next week if people are still reading this


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow I can't believe I actually managed to post this on time! I'm proud of myself lmao
> 
> enjoy the chapter y'all

Kageyama frowned when Hinata shivered beside him. He noticed it was very cold in the cell. 

Tendou and Lev were on guard outside the cells. Lev was standing near the wall, looking incredibly anxious. 

Kageyama felt a weight drop onto his shoulder and turned to see Hinata leaning on him. “Ah, sorry, Kageyama. I’m just really tired… and it’s so cold.”

Kageyama bit his lip and reached his arm around Hinata’s shoulders, pulling him close. Ushijima looked at them for a second and Kageyama thought he saw the ghost of a smile on his lips.

Hinata sighed happily and within seconds, he was asleep. Kageyama smiled sadly. He rested his head on top of Hinata’s and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep too.

The peace didn’t last for very long. Suguru arrived for his shift and switched out with Tendou. He brought food to their cell with a look of disgust on his face. 

The three prisoners took their equal shares after Kageyama woke Hinata up, and they ate in silence. 

Suguru leaned his shoulder against the wall and smiled when he saw Lev. “Hey! I remember you!”

Lev’s eyes widened and he took a step away from Suguru. “Uh…” 

Suguru laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you anymore. I’m glad you gave in so easily before, though. At least you don’t have too much scarring.” 

Kageyama saw Lev’s hand fly to his neck as he shuddered. Before anything else could happen, the short man Kageyama had seen when he had first gotten captured came from the stairwell and walked up to Suguru. 

“You’re needed,” he said coldly. Suguru nodded.

"Keep watch until I come back," he said before heading up the stairs.

The man watched him leave and turned to rest his back on the wall. 

Kageyama saw that Lev relaxed when Suguru left and looked at the short man beside him.

"Uh, hey." 

"Don't let him get to you. It's alright."

Lev blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks, Yaku. For everything." 

Yaku smiled back at him. "Don't worry about it." 

Kageyama turned his attention away from their interaction and back to the inside of his cell.

Ushijima was sitting in the corner of their cell, and looked as if he was meditating. 

Hinata was fiddling with a nail sticking out of the wall, and Kageyama scooted over to sit beside him. He bit his lip awkwardly.

Hinata looked over at him. "Something wrong, Kageyama?"

"Oh… no, nothing."

The nail popped out of the wall and Hinata sighed, throwing it aside. 

"We have to wait until both Tendou and Lev are on guard again before we can start forming a plan to get out of here. That's what you're thinking about, isn't it?"

Kageyama blinked. "Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"

"Just a feeling." Hinata smiled. "Don't worry, there's only two shifts left until Suguru is out of the picture. We can talk with everyone then."

Kageyama bit his lip. "Okay. We just have to hang on until then."

Hinata nodded. He stretched his arms above his head and leaned back against the wall. "I hate this just as much as you. If I have to stay here any longer I'll go insane."

Kageyama pursed his lips. He wanted to talk to Hinata, but didn't know what to say. Fortunately, it was the other boy who started the conversation.

"Kageyama, what was your childhood like?" 

The question startled Kageyama, and his eyes widened. “My… my childhood?”

“Yeah. Like, what was your life like when you were a kid?” asked Hinata. He looked at Kageyama with a grin on his face. 

“Why do you care, dumbass?” 

Hinata pouted. “I want to know more about you, Kageyama.”

Kageyama felt a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Alright, fine.”

He thought about it for a second. “Well, I guess my childhood wasn’t that normal, considering the fact I grew up as a prince. My family was pretty wealthy, so I always had the proper accommodations and everything.” 

“What did you do for fun?” 

Kageyama scratched his head. “Nothing really. I had to focus a lot more time on my studies and training.”

Hinata furrowed his brow. “Training?”

“Yeah, I did combat training with Iwaizumi and Oikawa when I was little.” 

Hinata’s eyes brightened. “Really? That’s so cool!” 

“I guess so.” 

Hinata shifted closer to Kageyama and crossed his legs. “So did you spend your whole life in the castle? Did you ever go visit the town?” 

Kageyama rested his elbows on his knees. “I spent most of my time in the castle and the yard surrounding it. But I remember visiting the town once, when I was around five or six years old.” 

“Only once?” Hinata asked. 

Kageyama nodded. “My parents didn’t want me to see too much of it, especially since that was when the village was at its worst. But I guess you know that already…”

Hinata smiled sadly. “Yeah.” He stayed silent for a couple of moments before asking Kageyama another question. “Were… were you happy?”

Kageyama choked. Had he been happy as a child? He fiddled with the hem of his shirt absentmindedly. 

“I guess I could’ve been happy then, but only because I didn’t know anything different. My days were the same, training, silent family meals, studying in the library. It was a comfortable routine for me. As a child, I didn’t need anything more, so I was satisfied.”

Hinata bit his lip and listened quietly.

“But after experiencing this, the real world, I… I don’t think what I had was happiness.” 

“What is happiness?” Hinata asked in a hushed whisper. 

Kageyama frowned. “I think it’s meeting new people, and experiencing new things. Back then, there were only five consistent figures in my life and my routine never changed. Now, I think the change was nice.” 

Hinata laughed. “I’m sure you’re glad you met me.”

“So what if I am, you idiot?” Kageyama said, blushing.

Hinata suppressed a grin. “Nothing will be permanent until we get out of here, though.”

Kageyama looked at him.

“I promise we’ll get out of here, Kageyama, and I’ll make sure you’ll keep experiencing the wonderful things in life,” said Hinata, nudging Kageyama’s shoulder.

“Dumbass, that’s so embarrassing,” Kageyama replied, but he ruffled Hinata’s hair affectionately. 

The two of them leaned back against the wall to wait for the shift rotation, and Ushijima spoke up from the corner. 

“I hope the both of you make it out safely. You remind me of what Tendou and I were like a couple of years ago. So much hope.” 

Hinata perked up. “We’ll all make it out of here! I’m sure of it!” 

Kageyama wasn’t convinced about what Hinata had said, but as he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, he realized that the only thing they had left was hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is unedited because of rEasONs so if I made any mistakes please tell me
> 
> see you guys next week


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I'm back
> 
> I'm finally getting back into my groove so the chapters won't be as short yayay
> 
> Enjoy!

Oikawa was glad they were being locked in the library. He had unlimited access to all the books there and was on his third book of the day.

Everyone else seemed pretty bored and were either bouncing off the walls or sitting quietly. He wondered if their captors would give up if they got annoyed enough.

Kunimi had just finished threatening Nishinoya for the fifth time when Iwaizumi came and sat down beside Oikawa on the floor. 

"Hey."

Oikawa put his book down and gave Iwaizumi a kiss on the cheek. "Hey. What's up?"

Iwaizumi lowered his voice. "We're making a plan to break out of here." 

"How? We can't fight against them, not without weapons." 

"We’ll find a way. I've already talked with the others. The next time one of them leaves to get food, we'll ambush the other one." Iwaizumi stood up. "Just letting you know."

Oikawa sighed. He was itching to get his bow back and fight, but that would have to wait. He watched as Iwaizumi went to pass the message on to Kiyoko and Yachi, who were sitting on a couch hunched over the same book.

He picked up his book again and kept reading, waiting for one of the mages to leave.

***

Kuroo and the others slowly made their way up the road to the castle just as the sun was setting.

Daichi opened the front door to the castle and Kuroo frowned when he saw how empty it was.

"Where is everyone? Usually the castle is teeming with guards and servants," said Suga.

Kenma looked around cautiously as Kuroo said, "Maybe everyone's just in their rooms?" 

Daichi sighed. "I hope nothing is wrong, we've dealt with too much over the last few days."

Suga squeezed his arm reassuringly. "Well, I'm going to go get changed in my room. I'm sure everything's fine." He pecked Daichi on the cheek and left. 

Daichi also went to his room in the royal guard tower, leaving Kuroo and Kenma standing awkwardly in the entryway. 

"I'm going to go to the library and see if I can improve this map, you know, since we got lost out there," Kenma murmured.

"I guess I'll go with you, if that's okay," said Kuroo.

Kenma looked at him with an expression he knew meant yes, and they started off down the hall towards the library.

When Kuroo pushed on the door, it didn't budge. Confused, he tried again. Still nothing. “What the…”

Kenma opened his mouth to say something, but Kuroo started knocking on the door. “Hey! Is anyone in there?”

“Kuro… something isn’t right,” Kenma said quietly. Kuroo drew his sword and they heard a commotion from inside the library.

“Kuroo! Is that you?” Kuroo recognized Bokuto’s voice from the inside. 

“Bro! Why is the door blocked?” he yelled. There was no response, just the sound of a blast and Akaashi’s voice screaming, “Bokuto!”

“Shit.” Kuroo turned and started running to the other library entrance, with Kenma close behind. 

Kuroo ran towards the entrance but was knocked to the ground when he tried to get through. 

“There’s a forcefield blocking it,” said Kenma. 

“Can you deactivate it?” 

Kenma bit his lip. “I can try.” 

Kuroo nodded and got up from the ground. “I’m going to go try to see if I can get in from the main entrance. Call me if you manage to get through.” He ran back down the stairs to the front door of the library. 

Daichi was standing in the hallway, looking confused. “What’s going on?” 

“I have no clue, but something weird is up. The library door is blocked and the other entrance has a forcefield on it.” 

Kuroo pushed on the door again and Daichi helped him. They managed to get it open a crack, just enough to see the chairs blocking it. 

“The hell?”

Daichi squinted to look into the library. “Kuroo, everyone is in there. All the castle staff. There’s these two guys I don’t recognize. They’re pushing everyone to the back of the library.” 

Kuroo cursed under his breath. “This is bad. We have to get the door open.” 

The two of them pushed harder on the door, hearing the chairs squeak against the floor of the library. 

"Daichi, don't come in here! It's not safe!" Nishinoya yelled from inside. 

"What's going on?" 

Another blast and the sound of a body hitting the ground was heard. 

Kuroo gave a final shove and the door creaked open just enough that they could see clearly inside and fit through the gap. 

"Kenma! We got it open!" Kuroo shouted and Kenma came running. 

Daichi squeezed himself through the door and drew his sword. Kuroo followed behind with Kenma. 

Two strangers were standing in front of the castle staff, looking ready to attack them. 

"Captain!" Tanaka cried. 

One of the strangers pointed his hand at the three newcomers threateningly. "Who are you?"

"I think we should be the ones asking that. What's going on?" Kuroo asked, holding his sword out in front of him. 

"We're on strict orders to keep everyone locked up until further notice. That includes you three, so surrender or we'll have no choice but to hurt you." 

Daichi frowned. Kuroo noticed that both Bokuto and Nishinoya were lying on the ground. He hoped they were just unconscious.

Seeing that the men weren't carrying any weapons, he assumed they were mages. When he thought about it for a little bit, he realized they looked familiar. 

"Daichi," he whispered. "I think these are the same guys who caused trouble during the coronation." 

"Really? Oh yeah, they are." 

Daichi cleared his throat. "Listen, we don't want any trouble. Just let our friends go and we won't have to fight." 

"Sorry, but I'm afraid we can't do that," said one of the mages. 

"I don't want anyone to get hurt, but if we have to defend ourselves, we will," Daichi said calmly. 

Kuroo moved to whisper into Kenma's ear. "We'll try to distract them. You go and make sure everyone gets out safely."

Kenma nodded and took a step off to the side, making sure he didn't get noticed by the two mages. 

Kuroo and Daichi stood beside each other, waiting to see if the mages would attack them. 

The four of them stood like that, waiting with bated breath for someone to initiate the fight. 

The strangers were too distracted with the situation to notice that Kenma had managed to sneak over to where all the castle staff were gathered. 

He put a finger to his lips and pointed to the door. Behind him, one of the mages had cast a lightning bolt that was hurtling towards Kuroo. 

"Shit!" he yelled before quickly dodging it. "Daichi, we have to take them down before they destroy this place!" 

Daichi nodded and they each ran to fight with one mage. 

Kuroo hoped that the strangers used mostly long distance spells and weren't good with melee combat. 

Kenma figured this was the best time for them to escape, and gestured to everyone curled up in the corner. 

Akaashi and Tsukishima stood, holding up an unconscious Bokuto, and made their way towards the exit. 

Kenma looked over to make sure Kuroo and Daichi were doing okay.

Kuroo was forcing the man he was fighting up the staircase, and Daichi was trying to move his opponent further away from the door so they could all escape.

Kenma saw that Akaashi, Bokuto, and Tsukishima were climbing through the opening in the door, and Yamaguchi was following close behind. 

Kenma nodded at everyone else and, staggering their departures, they all made their way quietly out of the library. 

The last people left were Nishinoya and Asahi. Asahi was carrying Nishinoya in his arms and Kenma saw tears in his eyes. He went over and put his finger to Nishinoya's neck. 

"He's still alive, don't worry."

Asahi nodded and moved quickly towards the door, lifting Nishinoya through and handing him to Tanaka on the other side. 

Kenma then snuck towards the door himself, and Kuroo made eye contact with him. 

Kenma sent him a look that said _‘Are you guys gonna be alright?’_

Kuroo nodded at him. He watched as Kenma slipped through the door and disappeared from sight. 

In his distraction, Kuroo got knocked off his feet. When he looked down he saw blood soaking through his sleeve and swore. 

He jumped up and swung his sword at the mage, catching the side of his shirt and tearing it. 

He dodged the next attack and watched as the fireball that had nearly hit his head crashed into the bookshelf behind him, setting it ablaze. 

"No!" He moved further up the staircase, trying to force the mage up to the highest point so he could push him off. 

Unfortunately, his opponent seemed to know what his plan was, and was attempting to knock him off balance with gusts of wind. 

"Kuroo! Are you doing okay?" he heard Daichi yell from below. 

"I'm alright, but we need to hurry this up and get some help before this whole place burns to the ground!" 

"Wha...? Oh my goodness..." Daichi hit the mage in the gut using the hilt of his sword and brought the blade up to his neck. 

"I'm giving you a chance. You and your friend, get out of here and don't come back and I won't have to do anything drastic."

The man whimpered as Daichi pressed the blade against his throat. "Alright. Alright! Kunimi!" 

The man Kuroo was fighting sighed in exasperation. "What do you want?" 

"We should leave."

"We have orders to keep them here!"

"He's going to kill me!" 

"Kindaichi, fight back!" 

Kuroo lunged at Kunimi and forced him to the ledge. "We'll kill both of you if you don't leave right now. And believe me, that's not what I want to do. I'm just trying to minimize the damage to the castle."

"We can't leave! I'd rather die with dignity here than whatever I'll suffer back with him!" Kunimi cried. 

Kuroo cocked his head. "What does that mean?" 

"I don't want to die a slow, painful death. If you're going to kill me, then do it quickly." 

"Kunimi!" The man in front of Daichi was squirming in an attempt to escape his grasp, and Daichi pressed his blade further into his neck. 

"Don't struggle. You aren't getting out until I hear you both say that you surrender."

"Don't you understand?" Kindaichi sobbed. "If we surrender, he'll kill us for not obeying orders. We die either way." 

Hearing his words, Kuroo couldn't help but feel sympathy for the two guys. He didn't want to have to kill them. 

"Daichi! Can't we just lock them up somewhere?" 

Daichi pondered over that. "That's a good idea. We can get Kiyoko to cast a spell over the cell so they can't use magic and see what happens from there."

"You're not going to kill us?" asked Kindaichi, relief evident in his voice. 

Daichi pinned his arms behind his back and waited as Kuroo dragged Kunimi down the stairs. 

They exited through the door and found Kiyoko. "We need your help, if you don't mind. Can we clear out the dungeons to keep these two imprisoned there?" 

"That's alright." Yachi came along with them to move her stuff out, and Kuroo made eye contact and smiled at Kenma before heading off. Everything was alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might post again on Thursday but that depends
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm posting today because I actually have a chapter ready haha
> 
> Enjoy!

The shifts had rotated twice, so Tendou and Lev were on guard. They positioned themselves each in front of one cell to share information between the captives. 

"Okay guys," said Tendou, keeping his voice just loud enough that they could hear. "We're going to break out soon. I'd say probably in the next few days. There's tension starting with the members of the royal guard and Suguru is becoming more aggressive. I don't want any injuries." 

Hinata bounced excitedly. "Do we have a plan? Because Kageyama and I have broken out of here before, we might be able to help." 

Tendou nodded. "We're obviously going to escape when Lev and I are on guard, preferably sometime in the early morning and when the shifts are just changing, so we can catch them off guard." 

Ushijima smiled softly at his friend. "That is a good plan." 

Tendou smiled back and told Lev to tell Kageyama's parents everything he had just said. 

While Lev was explaining, Tendou continued. "So probably about two or three days from now, we're going to get you guys out of here. Sound good?"

The three prisoners nodded, Hinata much more enthusiastically than the other two. 

Lev repeated the information to Kageyama's parents and the dungeon settled back into comfortable silence.

***

Oikawa was happy to wake up in his own bed. He looked to his side and saw that Iwaizumi had already woken up. 

He stretched and got dressed quickly in his uniform before running down the spiral staircase. 

He found some of the royal guards gathered in the library. They all looked somber and he figured they were talking about Kunimi and Kindaichi. 

He spotted Iwaizumi and sat down beside him.

"Good morning, Oikawa," Daichi said. "We're discussing the prisoners we apprehended yesterday." 

Oikawa nodded. "Are they in the dungeon?" 

Kuroo nodded. "They're being guarded by Tsukishima and Nishinoya. We're going to try to talk to them later today."

Oikawa hummed, leaning on Iwaizumi's shoulder. 

"From what we know so far, they are from the same kingdom that kidnapped Hinata and the king. That's all we managed to get out of them so far, but I think it's safe to assume that them locking you all in the library was connected to the kidnapping," Daichi said. 

"Speaking of, are we going to do anything to try and rescue those two?" asked Iwaizumi.

Both Kuroo and Daichi shook their heads. "We don't know where they are anymore."

"What?" cried Tanaka. "I thought the kidnappers left a map to their location."

"Yes. We found them, but His Majesty got caught by them too. We ran away, thinking that we could go back to them a couple of days later, but when we went back there was no one there."

Kuroo nodded. "I think they were moved to a different location."

Several people in the room cursed. 

Oikawa picked at his fingernails. “If we have no clue where they are, we can’t rescue them. Plain as that.”

“But we have to try!” Tanaka said.

“No, Oikawa’s right. We can’t afford to lose anyone else right now. We just have to trust that they’ll make it out on their own.” Daichi massaged his temples. 

The mood in the room became multiple times more somber. 

Daichi stood up and quietly said, "That's all for now," before leaving the library and letting the door slam loudly behind him. 

"The captain seems to be really distraught over this. I hope everything will be okay..." muttered Yamaguchi. 

Kuroo and Bokuto stood up to go down to the dungeons since their shift was coming. Most of the others also left to do their own thing, leaving the library empty save Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and the scribes. 

Iwaizumi put his face in his hands. "Why have things been so difficult lately?"

Oikawa traced circles on his shoulder. "Everything will work out alright, Iwa-chan. We can count on everyone to keep doing their job well."

Iwaizumi relaxed into Oikawa's touch. "I know that, and I have complete faith in the others, I'm just... so tired."

"Have you been sleeping?" Oikawa asked gently. 

"What do you think? There's so much going on, it's even harder than before." Iwaizumi bit his lip. 

"I heard you last night. Iwa-chan, you don't have to shoulder this alone." 

Iwaizumi shuddered and looked over to the scribes writing quietly on the table beside him. "Can we not talk about this here? I'm fine, really."

"Why are you lying to me?" asked Oikawa, his voice raising slightly. 

Iwaizumi stood up from his chair and wiped his hand across his face. "Please, Oikawa, we can talk about this tonight in private. I have to go guard the front entrance."

"Iwa-chan..." The name died on Oikawa's lips as he sank into his chair in exasperation. 

He hated that his best friend felt like he couldn't open up to him. They had known each other their whole lives, and Oikawa just wanted to offer Iwaizumi comfort like the other had done for him. 

He sighed and stood up, moving to grab a book from one of the shelves. He looked at the section of the shelf that had been burned and winced. 

There was so much knowledge stored in that small amount of space, and now it was lost. 

He went back to sit down in a chair and lose himself in a book, if only for a little while.

***

"Kageyama, do you know how many days it's been?"

Hinata's head rested in Kageyama's lap and Kageyama shook his head. 

"We don't really have a way to tell time in here, but if I had to guess, maybe a bit more than a day. Or more, but I couldn't say."

Suguru and Tendou were on shift, but luckily Suguru was on the other end of the dungeon and couldn't hear them whispering. And if he could hear, he wasn't doing anything about it. 

"How much longer do we have to wait?" whined Hinata, his voice getting louder. 

"Shut up, dumbass," Kageyama said a bit too loudly. He knew he had messed up when Suguru appeared in front of the cell. 

"Be quiet. I don't want to hear your annoying voices or I'll cut you."

Hinata scrambled away to the back of the cell, hand flying to the scar on his cheek. Kageyama noticed that Ushijima didn't seem fazed by the threat, and looked as if he was used to it. 

_Of course he's used to it, he's been here for four years_ , Kageyama reminded himself, feeling another pang of sympathy for the man. 

Suguru scoffed and went back to his spot near the stairwell. 

Hinata clung to Kageyama's sleeve. "I hate him." 

"Me too," whispered Kageyama, feeling guilty that he had gotten them in trouble. 

An hour and a half later, Lev came to replace Suguru and Tendou came immediately to crouch beside their cell. 

"Alright, it's been a day and a half. It's around two in the afternoon, and we're going to try and break out tonight at around three or four. Remember, we only have one shot at this. Mess up and it's over."

Kageyama frowned. 

"All right!" cried Hinata. "Finally, I can't stand it here." 

Tendou grinned. "I'll try to sneak weapons in here for you guys if I can secretly get my hands on some. It's not going to be easy, though."

"Don't do anything if it'll compromise your own safety. You're getting out of here too," Ushijima said. 

“Of course. We’re all making it out. Hey, maybe we can go back to our village. I haven’t seen my mom in such a long time…” 

"You'll see her again," said Ushijima, and Tendou grinned at him. 

"We can do this!" said Hinata, hitting Kageyama in the shoulder. "Right, Kageyama?"

"Yeah," Kageyama whispered. He felt a little bit nervous, but didn't want to let Hinata know. 

"Just hold on a little bit longer," Tendou said, reaching through the bars to ruffle Hinata's hair. He moved back to the stairwell and leaned against the wall.

Hinata stood up and spun around. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to get back to the castle and see everyone!" 

Kageyama watched him fondly, admiring Hinata's ability to stay positive even in the darkest of times. 

He wondered how his parents were doing in the next cell over and remembered that everything would change when they got back. Since his parents were still alive, he wouldn't have to be king anymore. 

He found he was relieved at the thought of that. Maybe now that his parents would take control of the kingdom, he could spend more time with Hinata. 

"Hey, Kageyama. What are you thinking about?" Hinata asked. 

"I was thinking that when we get back, I won't be king anymore."

Hinata cocked his head. "Oh, right. Hey, that means you can do fun things! I can teach you how to get around the castle without getting lost!" 

Hinata laughed and Kageyama cracked a smile. Things would be a lot easier once they escaped. 

"Can't wait," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post again on Sunday


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all here's another chapter
> 
> Warning for some violence

The next time Tendou and Lev were on shift, Tendou informed them it was around 6:30 PM. Lev brought them food, and Tendou reached under his jacket and pulled out three knives. 

“This was all I managed to grab, I hope you guys can manage with them.”

Kageyama nodded and took the knife, testing out its weight in his hands. It was lighter than his mother’s hunting knife, but it was easy to brandish and use. 

Ushijima looked at the knife lying on the ground in front of him, and Tendou smiled sadly at him. 

"Hey, I'm not asking you to use it. I want you to carry it though, just in case." 

Ushijima nodded and picked up the knife. 

Hinata sat down cross-legged on the ground and admired the knife. "Thanks a lot, Tendou!"

"It's no problem at all, I'm glad to help."

Kageyama yawned and decided he was going to sleep until it was time to escape. He could feel the effects of exhaustion wearing him down and curled up on the stone floor. 

"Wake me up when it's time," he whispered to no one in particular before drifting off. 

***

Loud footsteps stirred Kageyama out of his slumber, and he sat up violently. Suguru was coming down the stairs to replace Tendou, and Kageyama wondered if he was trying to make as much noise as possible. 

Kageyama looked down at Hinata who was sleeping beside him. 

He had a pained expression on his face and was holding on to Kageyama's arm tightly. 

Kageyama figured Hinata must be having a nightmare, so he ran his fingers through his friend's hair in an attempt to soothe him. Kageyama lay back down and closed his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that Suguru was right there, but willing to try anyway. 

***

The next time he woke up, it was because of Hinata hitting him in the arm. "Kageyama!" he whispered harshly. "Lev just rotated in. It's time!" 

Kageyama swore and stood up. Ushijima was already standing near the cell door as Tendou unlocked it, being as quiet as possible. 

Tendou pulled the cell door open and smiled at Ushijima. The two of them pressed their foreheads together for a second before moving out of the way to let Kageyama and Hinata out. 

Once Kageyama's parents' cell was unlocked, the seven of them gathered in front of the stairwell. 

"The shift just changed, so we have to go right now. Try to move as quietly as possibly and fight back if anyone tries to hurt you. Once you get more into the open, watch out for the archers on the balcony," Tendou whispered. 

"We're all going to make it out alive, alright?" 

They all nodded solemnly and went up the stairs in a single file line with Tendou in front. 

"Three..."

Kageyama looked at Hinata, who returned his gaze with an excited smile. 

"Two..." 

Tendou stood up and drew his sword. 

"One." 

He took off, sprinting in the direction of the front door without making a single sound. 

The movement beside him shook Kageyama out of his daze and he started to run. Even though Hinata and him had escaped before, it was going to be much more difficult with more of them. 

Surely enough, they were spotted. A couple of guards ran towards them and Tendou stopped to fend them off, cutting them down with his sword. 

"Hey!" 

Kageyama turned to look behind him for a second and saw Suguru running after them. 

He was yelling at Tendou. "You traitorous bastard!" 

Tendou didn't pay attention and kept running. 

Kageyama watched as Suguru's pace slowly increased until he was right behind Tendou.

"Watch out!" Kageyama yelled, just as Suguru thrust his blade forward. 

Tendou gasped as Ushijima's body slammed into him. They both collapsed to the ground, spattered with blood. 

Hinata tried to turn around, but Kageyama stopped him. "We have to trust that they can take care of themselves." 

They heard Tendou cry, "Wakatoshi!" and Kageyama knew that it was Ushijima who had been stabbed, trying to protect his childhood friend. 

More guards surrounded them and Hinata moved to defend Kageyama and his parents. 

One of the guards lunged, piercing Kageyama's mother's shoulder with her sword. 

"Katsumi!" screamed Kageyama's father. 

Hinata stabbed the guard in the stomach as Kageyama kept running, guilt overwhelming him and blurring his vision. 

Hinata made eye contact with Kageyama's father and yelled, "Keep going! I'll distract them!" 

Taiyo just solemnly shook his head. "Please, you have to go. Tobio needs you more than me."

Hinata stood there in shock for a second before throwing Taiyo his knife, whispering, "Thank you," and running after Kageyama. 

Kageyama focused on Lev, who was running in front of them, and tried not to think about his parents when he heard the sound of screaming from behind. 

Hinata came up beside him, tears welling in his eyes as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. 

Kageyama could almost taste the freedom, and suddenly Lev came to a halt in front of them. 

"Lev! What do you think you're doing?" It was the short man, Yaku. 

Lev lowered his sword. "Yaku, please just let us pass. They didn't do anything to you."

"So you're leaving too?"

"I have to. I can't stay here or Suguru will kill me," said Lev. 

"And you're going to make me deal with your consequences?"

"Yaku, I just want to get out of here, and I don't want to hurt you."

Yaku took a step forward. "I'll hurt you, you little -"

Hinata clapped his hands. "Don't touch him. I'll take you down if I have to, but we're getting out of here no matter what."

Kageyama nodded and took his knife out. 

Yaku stared at them incredulously. 

Lev's expression softened. "You could come with us. Escape from here. We wouldn't have to deal with Suguru and the others anymore. Everyone in the other kingdom is super nice, and we could restart our lives there." 

Kageyama saw tears in Yaku's eyes as Lev spoke. 

"We don't have to stay here anymore. This is our chance to escape. Come with us, Yaku."

Yaku bit his lip and scowled. "Alright, I'll come. This doesn't mean I'm not angry at you, though."

Lev laughed sheepishly and the four of them continued towards the door. Once out, they didn't stop running until they were deep in the forest. 

Hinata collapsed on the floor breathing heavily. "We made it. We really made it."

Lev shifted on his toes. "Where are Tendou and Ushijima?" 

Kageyama winced. "Ushijima got hurt, and I don't know what happened to Tendou. Last time I saw him, he was fighting Suguru."

Yaku pursed his lips. "We should at least wait a little bit to see if they're coming."

"Right!" Hinata chirped. 

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, waiting anxiously. 

Just as they were about to give out, Tendou appeared from the trees, him and another man supporting Ushijima. 

"This is Reon. He's helping us too."

Reon smiled sadly at all of them. 

"How are we going to get home?" asked Hinata. 

"Yaku, you're a mage, right? Do you know any spells that could help us?" asked Lev. 

Yaku nodded. "I can do a flying spell to get us to the other castle, but you guys will have to point me in the right directions." 

They all got in a circle, and Hinata said, "Oh, this is just like the spell Kenma uses!" before they rose into the sky. 

Kageyama held tight to Hinata's hand and hoped they would make it home soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... I apologize.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't murder me.

Iwaizumi and Daichi were on guard when they arrived. They were confused when they saw Tendou and the other newcomers, but Iwaizumi opened up the door and quickly led them to the infirmary after seeing Ushijima. 

Suga was already in there, and when Yachi came out of a back room, she wrapped Hinata in a bone-crushing hug. 

"Please, he's injured," Tendou said, worry evident in his voice. 

Suga looked at Daichi, and when he nodded he lay Ushijima down on one of the beds and told everyone except Yachi to leave. 

Everyone filed out of the room and Daichi turned to Kageyama and Hinata. "Would you like to explain what's going on?"

"We're sorry, Captain! These are the people who helped us escape from the dungeon. Look, this is Lev. He used to work here," Hinata said quickly. 

Lev bowed to Daichi and Daichi smiled. "I remember. Glad to have you back." 

They migrated to the library to sit down and talk properly. Iwaizumi caught them up on everything that had happened with Kunimi and Kindaichi, and in turn, Hinata explained what had happened with their capture. 

Tendou was pacing around the room muttering to himself. Yaku and Lev were sitting quietly and Reon was watching Tendou. 

Kageyama sank deeper into his chair, glad to finally be back in the castle. A sudden thought hit him and he remembered his parents. 

He must've made a sound because Hinata laid a hand gently on his shoulder. "Kageyama, is something wrong?"

"They really are dead this time." His voice cracked and tears pricked the corner of his eyes. He had only been with his parents for a little while before they had been taken away again. The fresh pain of losing them stung, knowing that this was it. They were really gone for good. 

He couldn't stop the ragged sob that escaped his lips, and was flooded with embarrassment for crying in front of everyone, but Hinata pulled him into his chest and let him sob. 

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to them for real. Hinata, I never even told them I loved them." He knew his relationship with his parents wasn't that strong, but they had raised him, and he loved them. 

Hinata stroked his hair and whispered reassurement into his ear. 

Kageyama felt broken. He had hoped that everything would go back to the way it was before he was king, and he could try to enjoy life to the fullest from now on. But his parents were dead and he had to keep ruling. Why couldn't he just have died there too?

"Why them and not me?" he whispered into Hinata's shirt. 

"Kageyama, no. I won't let you think like that. You deserve to be here."

Kageyama bit his lip so hard he drew blood. He didn't even have his mother's hunting knife to remember her. 

The atmosphere in the library was solemn, and all that could be heard were Kageyama's soft sobs and Tendou's incoherent muttering. 

Kageyama finally managed to calm down and Hinata looked him in the eyes, cupping his face in his hands. 

"Listen, even if they're gone, you're never going to be alone." 

Kageyama sniffed and nodded, wiping the tears off his face and taking a deep breath. 

Daichi looked at him sympathetically, and at that moment Yachi walked into the library. "Suga says if anyone wants to visit the patient they can.”

Tendou ran immediately to the door, almost knocking the girl over in his haste. Hinata followed, and Kageyama trailed after him. 

Ushijima was lying in the bed and Suga had a grim expression on his face. 

"He has lost a lot of blood. I'm sorry to say, but it's very unlikely that he'll survive."

Tendou swore. "I can't believe I couldn't get him out safely."

Hinata bit his lip. "Tendou, it's alright..."

"No, it's not alright! I promised him we would all make it out safely, but that was a lie! Now he's lying here on his deathbed and I can't do anything to help. I'm damn useless, and I always have been. I shouldn't have abandoned him to join the royal guard, then maybe we wouldn't be in this position."

Kageyama listened to his rant quietly. 

"He was imprisoned there for four years! Four years, and all I could do was watch. Do you know how hard it was? All those scars he has, I had to watch as that was done to him. Sometimes I was the one behind the knife. But we kept up the act, pretending we weren't friends, all because we had some sliver of hope that we would get out someday."

Tendou took a shaking breath. "About two years in, I thought it would be better if we just died peacefully right there. I snuck some pills, but he talked me out of it. Said that the day would come when we would finally be free. He never lost hope, and always believed in me. And now I have to watch him die, knowing it's all my fault." 

He let the tears stream down his cheeks as he knelt beside the bed and pressed his forehead to Ushijima's. 

"Why'd you have to go and do that? Jumping in front of the blade to protect me…” He sniffed. 

Hinata squeezed Kageyama’s arm as they watched the heart wrenching display in front of them. 

Kageyama grimaced as he saw the amount of blood covering the floor, the bed, and Suga's own hands. 

The healer looked devastated that he couldn't save Ushijima, and sat in his chair quietly. 

Tendou let out another sob and whispered, "Don't you fucking die on me." 

He buried his face in the crook of Ushijima's neck. 

Suga walked over and after checking his pulse and breathing, shakily said, "He's gone." 

Tendou collapsed onto the floor. "He said that we would make it out together..." 

Suga turned to Hinata and Kageyama. "We should let him be alone for a little while."

Kageyama nodded and pulled Hinata back to the library. Suga followed behind.

Daichi looked up at them expectantly and Suga whispered, "I couldn't save him."

He collapsed into Daichi's arms. Daichi held him tightly, and the rest of the people in the library hung their heads. Even if they hadn't known Ushijima personally, it was always hard to handle death. 

All of them had seen their fair share of it throughout their lives, but that didn't mean they were numb to the pain of grief. 

Kageyama clenched his fists tightly as he looked at everyone. As king, he felt responsible for what had happened. He remembered what some of the villagers had said a little while back, about how he was an incompetent ruler, and wondered if he could have done anything to prevent this. 

He felt like a terrible person. How could he have let this happen? 

Hinata shifted beside him, and turned to hug Kageyama around the waist. 

"This isn't your fault," he murmured.

Kageyama just stared into the distance blankly. He had messed up, and as a result people were dead. 

Kageyama wanted to curl up in his bed and block out the whole world. He pulled away from Hinata, mumbling, “I’m going to go to my room,” and walked out of the library. 

He made it to his room without getting lost and closed the door quietly behind him. 

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he took out the knife Tendou had provided him with. It was clean, free of any blood. Kageyama wondered what would’ve happened if he had fought the guards chasing him. Maybe his parents would have survived. 

He pulled open the window and hurled the knife out into the gardens, wanting to be rid of it. 

Kageyama sank back down onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He knew that tomorrow, he was going to have to suck it up and start trying to restore the castle’s balance. 

He really didn’t want to. He wanted to sleep for a hundred years, like in the fairytales. The pain was tearing him up from the inside and he couldn't stand it. 

All Kageyama could do was bury his face in his pillow and try to fall asleep despite the voices that echoed in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry
> 
> Also like I know time doesn't make sense in this fic at ALL but just ignore that
> 
> Sorry for the late update! I hope to get another chapter out this Sunday


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I might as well just change my posting day to Monday but whatever. Updates are probably not going to be consistent because I'm kind of breaking down but I'll try to post every week

Hinata sat with Yachi in his room, fiddling with a button on his jacket as he explained every single thing that had happened in the dungeon in detail.

Yachi sat cross legged on the floor beside him and listened attentively. 

"I feel awful. He finally got to see his parents again, but I couldn't keep them alive."

Yachi hummed. "They did what they did knowing the consequences. It isn't your fault."

Hinata sighed. "I know, but now Kageyama is sad, and I don't know what to do. I want to comfort him, but... I feel like he doesn't want to talk to me."

Yachi raised her eyebrows. “I think it’s quite the opposite. He probably wants some time to himself to grieve, but he also needs support. If he doesn’t reach out to you after a little while, you should try to talk to him.”

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, okay. Thanks for your help.” 

Yachi smiled and stood up. “Anytime.” She left, gently shutting the door behind her and leaving Hinata alone with his thoughts. 

He hoped that Kageyama would be alright. Hinata understood how he was feeling, and remembered what it was like to lose his own parents. 

_"Shoyo, can you light a fire?" his mother yelled from the kitchen._

_Hinata nodded and bent down, striking the last match they had and starting a fire in the living room._

_His little sister, Natsu was shivering on the floor, wrapped up in their father's jacket._

_Hinata could hear his parents' hushed voices, discussing what would happen next._

_He knew that they were running out of food and water, and would starve on rations smaller than what they were already eating._

_Natsu had a cold, and they didn't have any medicine. He knew that his parents were going to have to go see if they could trade with any of the other villagers._

_Sure enough, his mother and father came into the living room. His father cleared his throat._

_“We’re going out to see if we can find some medicine and more food. Shoyo, take care of your sister.”_

_And then they were gone. Hinata watched them leave out the front door and the house was plunged into silence once again._

_Two days later, his parents still hadn’t returned. Natsu was curled into Hinata’s side, sleeping quietly._

_He got up, trying not to wake her, and left the lamp beside the couch before slowly opening the door and peeking outside._

_It was calmer than it had been a few days ago, but there were still several people fighting on the streets._

_Hinata wandered a little bit away from his house, wondering where his parents were._

_His gaze landed on a pile of something lying in a dark corner of the street and… were those bodies?_

_Hinata turned and vomited on the side of the road. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he pulled his sweater tighter around himself and wiped his mouth._

_Heart pounding in his chest, he stepped forward to look at the bodies._

_He saw his mother's familiar face peeking out of the bottom of the pile and sank to his knees._

_He covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his scream, and with shaking legs stood up and started to run back home._

_Hinata didn't know how he was going to explain this to Natsu when he got back. It was just the two of them now._

Hinata wiped away the tears leaking out of his eyes and stretched out his legs. He fell onto his back and stared at the ceiling. 

Hinata heard soft voices outside the room and went to peek out his door to see what was going on.

Kageyama was standing in the hallway with Yamaguchi, and both of them turned to look at Hinata. Yamaguchi smiled, turned around, and left.

Hinata raised his eyebrows. “What was that about?”

Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know where your room was, so I had to ask.”

Hinata stared at him for a couple of seconds before opening the door to let Kageyama in.

They sat down awkwardly on Hinata’s bed and Hinata smiled sadly at Kageyama. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.” 

Hinata looked down at the floor. “Is there something…?”

“I just wanted to see you,” Kageyama murmured. 

Hinata moved his hand and their pinkies brushed against each other. 

Kageyama sniffed and he closed his eyes. "Hinata, I..."

"What are we, Kageyama?"

Kageyama's eyes flew open and he looked incredulously at Hinata.

"It's alright if you don't know yet, but... are we at least friends?" Hinata asked.

Kageyama took Hinata's hand into his own and squeezed it gently. "I don't know how to properly say it, but you mean a lot to me, Hinata."

Hinata smiled brightly at him. “You mean a lot to me, too.”

Kageyama went silent, and Hinata saw that there were tears rolling down his cheeks. 

“What’s wrong, Kageyama?”

“I don’t want to lose anyone else important to me. Every time I become attached to someone they leave. It’s only a matter of time before you’re gone too.”

Hinata laced their fingers together and Kageyama kept talking. 

“Can I get something off my chest?”

Hinata nodded and Kageyama took a deep breath. 

“I had a best friend when I was younger. They were an orphan, so my parents took them in. Before I had to start training in combat, we did everything together. But one day, I woke up and they weren’t in the castle anymore. My parents told me that they had gotten adopted by a family from another kingdom.”

Kageyama bit his lip. “A couple years later, we went to visit that kingdom. My parents said that maybe I could see them. We found their family, but the year before, they had died of the flu."

He wiped the tears from his eyes. "After losing them, and now my parents, I'm scared to be close with anyone again. I don't want to suffer anymore. Is that... is that selfish?"

Hinata pulled Kageyama closer to him and shook his head. "No, it's not selfish at all."

Kageyama sniffled and buried his face in Hinata's shoulder. Hinata held him tightly, wishing he could protect the boy in his arms from all the difficulties of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so if anyone remembers this part back in part 1 chapter 14:
> 
> 'Hinata frowned and stood up. “Why not? Don’t you want to believe they could still come back?”
> 
> “No! I don’t! Because if I get my hopes up, they’ll get shattered again, just like when—” He cut himself off.
> 
> “Like when…?” Hinata looked at him, intrigued.
> 
> Kageyama turned away from him. “Nothing. I’d like it if you left now.”'
> 
> Kageyama was talking about his friend that died. I know no one remembers this but I needed to just tie up these loose ends.   
> Anyway, I'll see you next week (hopefully)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy pride month everyone! You are all valid and I love you
> 
> I know I haven't updated in 3 weeks and I'm sorry this chapter is really short I just didn't want to wait any longer to post or I wouldn't end up doing it *dies in a corner*
> 
> I will try my hardest to update this more I just took a long break for my mental health but I'm better now (kinda)
> 
> Enjoy!

When Iwaizumi came back from his shift, Oikawa was already sitting on the bed, arms crossed, looking angry. 

“What are you doing?” Iwaizumi asked. 

“Tell me what’s going on.”

"Oikawa..."

Oikawa stood up and walked over to Iwaizumi. "No. I want to know what I can do to help you. It hurts me to see you like this."

Iwaizumi sighed and sank down onto the bed. "I haven't got a full night of sleep in days. I'm falling apart. What else do you need to know?"

Oikawa sat down beside him and tentatively leaned his head on his shoulder. "Are you having bad dreams again?"

"No, but I can't stop thinking.”

"Have you talked to Suga? Maybe he can make something to help calm your mind," Oikawa said gently. 

Iwaizumi hummed and kicked off his boots, pulling the covers over himself and falling back onto the pillow.

Oikawa snuggled in next to him and closed his eyes.

"Is it alright if I go to sleep?" he asked. 

Iwaizumi nodded and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Of course. Good night, I love you."

"I love you, too."

***

It was about ten in the morning when everyone gathered near the front entrance to see Tendou and Reon off. 

They had been provided with a cart to get back to Tendou and Ushijima’s hometown, and were lifting Ushijima’s body into the back. They then gently covered him with a blanket. 

Daichi shook hands with Tendou as Reon climbed into the driver’s seat. “All the best to the both of you.”

“Thank you, and the same to all of you,” Tendou replied before getting into the cart. 

Kageyama and Hinata stood holding hands as they watched the cart leave, Tendou waving sadly to everyone. 

Daichi sighed. "I hope they can find some sense of peace. So much has happened."

"You got that right," said Kuroo. 

They all walked back inside and sat down in the library. 

"What happens now?" asked Nishinoya.

"I guess we just… go back to normal," Tanaka said, scratching the back of his head. 

Someone pounded their fist on the table. Suga stood up, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. 

“Normal? Do any of you even remember what that was like? How can we possibly go back to normal after all this?”

Daichi winced. “Suga…” 

“Nothing will ever be normal again. Nothing will…” His voice cracked and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Daichi sighed. “Everyone, please return to your posts and try to relax. If any of you need some time off, feel free to ask me. I know things are very difficult right now.”

One by one, everyone filed out of the library. Kuroo was the last one to leave and he closed the door gently. 

“Daichi.”

Daichi wrapped his arms around Suga and pulled him close. “Hey, I know it’s not okay. I won’t pretend that it is. But we have to pull through.”

Suga started crying and buried his face into Daichi’s shoulder. “I know, I know. I just… I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry,” Daichi whispered. He held Suga tighter as he cried in the silence of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who have given comments/kudos to this fic, it really means a lot to me!
> 
> Also rip to the plot of this


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna cry
> 
> This chapter is short again I'm sorry

Kageyama and Hinata stood awkwardly in the hallway, unsure how to say goodbye to each other before Hinata went to guard the dungeon. 

“Uh…” 

“I’ll come to your room after my shift, alright?” Hinata said softly. 

“You don’t need to if it’s too much trouble-”

Hinata shook his head. “I’m coming. Don’t try to stop me.”

“It’s not necessary…”

Hinata gave him a look and Kageyama decided to shut up.

“Fine,” he said and before he could turn to leave, Hinata rose on his tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. 

Kageyama blushed and watched as Hinata ran off. He raised a hand to touch his cheek and smiled. 

***

Kageyama was reading on his bed when a knock sounded on his door.  
“Come in,” he called. 

The door creaked open and Hinata poked his face in. “Hi.” 

He walked over to the bed and sat down beside Kageyama. Kageyama instantly leaned closer to him and sighed, lowering his book down on his lap.

Hinata grinned. “Why were you protesting earlier if you really wanted to see me?”

“Who said I wanted to see you, dumbass?”

Hinata laughed and rested his head on Kageyama’s shoulder. “You can’t deny it. I can tell.” 

“Whatever,” Kageyama muttered, but Hinata was right. These days, even his presence was enough to ease Kageyama’s heart just a little bit. 

He didn’t want to admit it, especially after he had just said he was afraid to be close with someone again, but he really enjoyed being with Hinata. When they were together, he felt safe and at home. He didn’t know why, but Hinata just had a calming effect on him. 

“Kageyama? Is everything okay?”

He looked down at Hinata. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

Hinata lifted his head to make eye contact with Kageyama. “You were being really quiet.” 

“I was just thinking,” Kageyama replied softly. 

“About what?” 

Kageyama blushed. “About, uh… about you.”

“Huh? About me? Why?” Hinata asked, lifting his face closer to Kageyama’s.

Kageyama’s heart sped up and he tried to hide his face. “I was thinking about how it doesn’t feel scary to be close to you. It’s not a big deal.”

“What do you mean?”

“I… I think I can trust that you won’t leave. At least not willingly.” Kageyama turned even more red and faced away from Hinata. 

Hinata blinked. “Kageyama…” 

“Um, I-” 

Kageyama felt Hinata fling his arms around his neck and the force pushed him backwards onto the bed. 

“Of course you can trust me!” said Hinata, eyes sparkling as he looked at Kageyama. “I won’t leave, Kageyama, no matter what. I’ll always be here. It’s my duty as a member of the royal guard, after all.”

Kageyama shifted, curling his arms around Hinata’s waist. Hinata spoke again.

“But even if I wasn’t part of the royal guard, I’d still be there for you. Because I really like you, Kageyama.” 

“I… I really like you too,” Kageyama mumbled, biting his lip. Staring into Hinata’s eyes, he couldn’t help but think that he was like the sun: warm and radiant, a bright light in Kageyama’s dark world. 

_I really want to kiss him,_ Kageyama thought. 

Hinata smiled down at him, his face hovering inches above Kageyama’s. He leaned down and their lips met awkwardly, noses bumping. 

The two of them started laughing and Hinata let his head fall down onto Kageyama’s chest. 

Kageyama’s heart welled up with relief and he felt at ease lying there with Hinata. 

He could tell that they wouldn’t have to rush their relationship. They could take their time and grow together. 

Kageyama smiled and pressed a kiss to Hinata’s hair. Maybe things were really, truly going to be alright this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating frequently I don't even have an excuse I just procrastinate a lot :(
> 
> We're almost at the end of this fic, I just have to tie up some loose ends and then it will be done!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god okay I didn't mean to do this whole thing it just happened
> 
> Also ik it's been a while please don't kill me

After they had gotten all the information from Kunimi and Kindaichi, Daichi declared that they weren’t threats and gave them a spare bedroom in the castle, telling them they could stay as long as they wanted to. 

A few people tried to protest at first, but eventually accepted it, if not reluctantly. 

One night several days later, after things had cooled down a little, Kindaichi had found Iwaizumi in his room and told him that he wanted to join the royal guard. 

Iwaizumi scratched his head. “Are you sure? You have the chance to live a peaceful life, you know. Why not take it?”

“I don’t think I can go back to just being a civilian, sir. Partly because of guilt, but for other reasons too,” Kindaichi mumbled.

“Well, if you’re sure you want to join, we’re glad to have another mage.”

Kindaichi bit his lip. “Oh, I… I don’t want to use magic anymore. I don’t have much experience with a sword but if someone was willing to teach me…”

Iwaizumi decided it was best not to ask any more questions so that he wouldn’t overwhelm Kindaichi and nodded. “Sure thing, kid. Now go get some rest, we’ll start your training in the morning.” 

Kindaichi bowed and quickly ran off to his and Kunimi’s room. Kunimi was already sitting on the bed, absentmindedly twirling the sheets around his finger and staring at the ceiling.

He looked down as Kindaichi closed the door behind himself. “There you are. Why’d you leave so suddenly?”

“Oh, uh, I had to talk to Iwaizumi.” Kindaichi sat down on the edge of the bed.

“About what?” Kunimi asked, looking back at the ceiling.

Kindaichi was silent, fiddling with his hands. He was nervous to tell Kunimi that he wanted to stay at the castle, but he couldn’t keep it to himself. 

“Kindaichi?”

He took a deep breath. “Kunimi, I want to stay here. Permanently. Iwaizumi already said I could join the royal guard.”

Kunimi looked at him with confusion. “We were gonna leave tomorrow though. Go back to our hometown.”

“Well, I know, but… I want to stay here. I don’t think I can face my parents after everything I’ve done.”

Kunimi rolled his eyes. “Everything you’ve done? You’ve barely done anything bad. Back with Suguru, it was always me who killed prisoners that didn’t cooperate.”

“Can we not talk about that…” Kindaichi mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re being kind of sensitive about it. We already decided to go home so that’s what’s happening.”

Kindaichi frowned. “That place isn’t home anymore, you know that.”

“There’s nowhere else to go, Kindaichi.”

“Didn’t you hear Daichi? He said we’re welcome here.”

Kunimi sighed exasperatedly. “Even if he’s not just being polite and actually wants us here, no one else does. You saw how they reacted.”

“If we stay, maybe we can make them like us over time.”

“Things don’t work that way. We were the enemy, so we’ll always be somewhat bad in their eyes.”

Kindaichi opened his mouth then closed it. He was silent for a few moments then said, “I already told Iwaizumi I was staying. If you’re leaving, then I guess this is goodbye.”

Hurt flashed across Kunimi’s face but he recovered quickly. “You’re really gonna stay?” His voice was so full of contempt that Kindaichi shrank back a little.

“Yeah.”

“Hm. Pretty quick to leave me alone. Maybe you always wanted to leave and now you finally have a way out so you’re taking it?”

Kindaichi gaped. “That’s not it at all! I just thought there’s no point in trying to convince you to stay. You seem like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“You could just come with me like we had originally planned,” Kunimi said, voice rising. 

Kindaichi was anxiously chewing his bottom lip. He didn’t want to make Kunimi angry. He was ruthless when he was mad.

“I already told Iwaizumi I’m joining the guard.”

“Just tell him you changed your mind.”

“I don’t want to!” Kindaichi cried. He instantly clapped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell-”

“So you really do want to get rid of me,” Kunimi said coldly. 

“I don’t. Maybe… maybe it’s just best if we go our separate ways now. Since we both want different things.”

Kindaichi’s heart ached with every word he said. He really didn’t want Kunimi to leave, but he knew he couldn’t convince him to stay.   
_It’s better this way,_ Kindaichi told himself, but it still hurt. 

“Fine,” retorted Kunimi. “I’m going to bed. I’ll leave in the morning.” He turned away from Kindaichi and lay his head down on the pillow. 

Kindaichi sighed. He thought it would be better if he didn’t sleep beside Kunimi that night, and curled up on the small couch in the corner of the room.

***

At four in the morning, Kindaichi was still awake. He had cried quietly for a couple hours, then felt bad about it. He really was being sensitive. 

Kindaichi sighed and got up off the couch, knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyways. Maybe he could get some rest once Kunimi left. 

His heart hurt at the thought of being separated from his best friend. He realized it would be better if he just went with Kunimi. 

Gently closing the door, he started walking through the castle towards Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s room.   
_I’ll say that I’ve reconsidered, for Kunimi. If I’m not happy, at least he’ll be._

***

“Are you really gonna train him, Iwa-chan?”

Kindaichi had just left and Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sitting on the couch in their room.

Iwaizumi nodded. “I can’t believe he wants to join the guard, though.”

“I heard what you said before… You know we don’t have to stay here, right?” Oikawa said in a gentle tone.

Iwaizumi smiled halfheartedly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought Kindaichi would want to live a less harsh life.” 

Oikawa sighed. “Have you been sleeping better after you went to see Suga?”

Iwaizumi rubbed the back of his neck. “A little bit.”

“You’re not lying, are you?” Oikawa asked suspiciously. 

“I don’t lie to you, Oikawa.” As Iwaizumi said this, he felt a pang in his heart. He had lied to Oikawa before, but only to protect him.

“Alright. I’m going to sleep. Love you,” Oikawa whispered, pressing a kiss to Iwaizumi’s cheek and climbing into their bed.

Iwaizumi stayed on the couch and reached for a book. He decided he would read until his eyelids got heavy and his body automatically fell asleep.

***

Several hours later, Iwaizumi heard a knock on the door. He put down his book and checked the clock. It was around 4AM. 

_Who would come around at this time?_ he thought to himself, cracking the door open. “Hello?”

“Sir? Sorry to bother you.” It was Kindaichi.

“Come in,” Iwaizumi said in a hushed voice. “Oikawa’s asleep, and he says he needs his beauty rest, so it’s best to be quiet.”

Kindaichi nodded and they sat down on the couch. 

“So, did you need something?”

“Um, yeah. I… Is it okay if I change my mind? About staying here?” Kindaichi fidgeted. 

Iwaizumi furrowed his brow. “It’s alright, but I thought you wanted to stay?”

“Well, yeah, but Kunimi wants to leave. And… I don’t want to leave him alone.” Kindaichi sighed. “It’s always been the two of us, ever since we were little. I’m not ready to part ways yet.”

“Are you gonna be happy if you leave?” Iwaizumi asked. 

Kindaichi bit his lip. “I’ll be happy when Kunimi is happy.”

“Don’t you want to be happy for yourself?”

Kindaichi paused for a couple moments. Now that he thought about it, ever since they were kids he hadn’t been happy unless Kunimi was happy.

“Kindaichi, I understand you want Kunimi to be happy. I know how it feels to be willing to sacrifice everything to help the person you love. But you shouldn’t depend too much on that person. I think you should try to find your own happiness, even if it’s in something small, like the moon’s reflection upon a lake,” said Iwaizumi. 

Kindaichi hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you. I’ll stay at the castle then. Sorry for bothering you at this hour.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Iwaizumi smiled as Kindaichi left, closing the door behind him. Yawning, he climbed into the bed beside Oikawa, brushing hair out of his lover’s face before resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes.

***

Kindaichi rubbed his temples. Kunimi was awake, collecting things they had been given to take on his trip. He was ignoring Kindaichi, but Kindaichi was too tired to talk anyway. He could barely keep his eyes open after not sleeping at all last night. 

Before he knew it, he was following Kunimi down the stairs to the library. Some people were already in there, and Kunimi said, “I’m leaving now.”

Daichi looked up. “Oh, we’ll get you a cart. One second.”

A few minutes later, Daichi, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Kindaichi, Kunimi, and Suga were standing by the front gate. Everyone else was either asleep or on guard duty.

Kunimi grabbed his small bag and climbed into the cart. Kindaichi watched him sit down and face away from everyone. 

The cart started driving away, and Kunimi didn’t even look back. Kindaichi’s heart ached. The further away Kunimi got, the worse Kindaichi felt. 

_This hurts._

Kindaichi saw Iwaizumi out of the corner of his eye, and remembered what he had said. But Kindaichi didn’t want to spend the rest of his life without Kunimi. He could find happiness elsewhere, but he still wanted to be by his best friend’s side.

“Kunimi, wait!” Kindaichi started to run after the cart, almost tripping.

“Kindaichi!” Iwaizumi shouted, starting to move, but Oikawa lay a hand on his arm. 

“Let them work this out.”

Kindaichi sped up, calling out for Kunimi. 

Kunimi eventually turned around, and reluctantly told the driver to stop. Kindaichi slowed down in front of the cart and caught his breath before speaking.

“Kunimi, please don’t go.”

“Kindaichi, we already-”

“I don’t want to abandon you. Not now, and not ever. But I’ll be happier at the castle, and I’d be happy if you could stay here with me.” 

Kindaichi kept talking. “We can start fresh here, and forget everything that happened in the past. Suguru can’t hurt us anymore.” 

Kunimi flinched. “I-”

“Stay.” Kindaichi extended his hand. “Please.”

“What about our hometown?”

Kindaichi sighed. “There’s nothing waiting for us there anymore.”

“Your parents…”

“They don’t want to see me.”

Kunimi chewed on his bottom lip. Everything Kindaichi had said was incredibly persuasive.

He reached out and took Kindaichi’s hand. “Alright.”

Kindaichi gasped and when Kunimi hopped down from the cart, he was pulled into a slightly awkward hug. 

Kindaichi buried his face in his friend’s shoulder and whispered, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh...yeah. I don't know why this chapter happened, I just thought Kunimi and Kindaichi deserved some closure, but I didn't mean to make it this long. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Next chapter will be a kind of epilogue and then we're done!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The last chapter! Hope you enjoy

_A few months later…_

Kageyama sat at the end of the long table, tapping his fingers anxiously. Iwaizumi was talking about visiting various other kingdoms sometime in the near future to try and form alliances with their rulers. 

“Is that a great idea though? What if they try to attack His Majesty while he’s visiting?” Kuroo asked. 

“Some of us will go with him, just in case,” said Daichi. Iwaizumi nodded.

Kageyama sighed. “That’s fine I guess. I know it’s important to have allies.” 

“Of course, Your Majesty. We can make the first trip in a couple months or so. How does that sound, everyone?”

It was a unanimous decision that it would be best to wait a couple months before going. Daichi declared the meeting adjourned and everyone went their separate ways. 

Kageyama stepped out of the room and sighed. He still wasn’t used to being the ruler, but each day he learned new things and it got easier. 

He suddenly remembered he had promised to meet with Hinata today, but he didn’t know where. Kageyama decided to check his room first, so he started running up the flight of stairs leading there.

“Your Majesty, Hinata is waiting for you in the library.”

Kageyama was rushing through the hall, and almost bumped into Yamaguchi. 

“Ah yes, thank you for telling me.” He turned around and went back down the stairs. He rounded a corner and pushed open the door to the library. Hinata was sitting in one of the chairs, and Kageyama walked over, bending down to kiss his cheek. 

“Kageyama, finally. I’ve been waiting for like an hour.”

“Sorry, sorry. I had some business to attend to.” 

“More meetings?” Hinata asked. 

“Yeah,” Kageyama sighed, squeezing into the chair beside Hinata. 

“Isn’t it tiring?”

Kageyama nodded. “But it’s my responsibility as king to take care of everything, so I can’t complain. And it’s really not that bad.”

“Well, now that you have a moment free, I have a surprise for you.” Hinata stood up and took Kageyama’s hand. 

Kageyama was confused, but let Hinata lead him through the castle halls. They came to the back door that went to the gardens, and Hinata turned to him.

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?” 

Hinata huffed. “Because it’s a surprise, obviously.”

Kageyama sighed and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he heard Hinata’s voice. “You can open up now.”

Kageyama opened his eyes. The sun was very bright, so it took his eyes a second to adjust, but when they did, he saw new flowers in the garden. 

There were rows of daffodils and pansies that had been freshly planted. “Hinata, did you plant these?”

Hinata smiled. “Yeah, but not alone. Suga, Yamaguchi, and Yachi helped too.” He reached into his pocket and handed an envelope to Kageyama. “Here.”

“What’s this?” asked Kageyama. Hinata didn’t answer, so Kageyama opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

_Tobio,_

_I’m writing this from a cell somewhere we’ve never been before. It’s been quite some time since we left to find a healer for you, but then this happened. I hope you’re faring better than us back at the castle._

_I hope we can get out of here soon and see you again. I’m sure you’ve had to take on more responsibilities since we’ve been gone, but I hope you’re not being overwhelmed._

_It pains me that I have to write this letter. Your father and I would much rather talk to you face to face. I hope we will have the chance to do that again._

_There’s so much more I want to say to you, but I can’t write it all. Just in case we don’t make it out of here, we love you very much. We always will._

_Love, Mom and Dad_

When Kageyama finished reading, there were tears streaming down his face. “How did you get this?”

“Tendou gave it to me before he left. He kept it that whole time and told me to give it to you.”

Kageyama rubbed his eyes. “Thank you.” He pulled Hinata into a hug. 

“It was nothing, really. Tendou was the one who got the letter, and I just thought it would be nice to add something to the gardens to remember your parents by. It wasn’t much work.”

“Still, you did this. I have to thank you.”

Hinata smiled up at him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “You’re welcome, then. After everything we've been through, I think we deserve something nice, yeah?”

“Yeah,” whispered Kageyama, lightly tracing the scar on Hinata’s cheek. He looked out across the gardens, holding Hinata in his arms, and he had the feeling that many good things were to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's finally finished... I'm both sad and happy :')
> 
> I don't want to get all sentimental so I'll just say thanks to everyone who gave comments/kudos and to the people who just took the time to read my fic! I love all of of you <3


End file.
